REVIEW: Meshuggah, In Flames, Whitechapel at The Paramount | 12.08.2023

Show Reviews

Dec 11

Written By

Swedish metal legends Meshuggah are currently in the midst of a 19-date North American tour with In Flames and Whitechapel. Yes, you read that correctly. Meshuggah. In Flames. Whitechapel. On one bill. An epic metal trifecta guaranteed to have a djent expression glued to your face for an entire evening while loving every minute of it.

Judging by the standing room only crowd that packed into The Paramount on Long Island this past Friday, I was far from the only one that recognized the can’t-miss nature of this lineup. Let’s get into it.

THE SHOW

After a headlining tour earlier this year where the band played their 2019 album, The Valley, in full, Whitechapel took on the responsibility of laying the foundation for the epic night ahead. Opening with “Let Me Burn”, Whitechapel made their brutal intentions clear from the start. They packed every ounce of their energy into their set. No banter, just bangers.

After playing "Brimstone" Whitechapel left the stage in darkness, the anticipation building as the band reappeared one member at a time and launched into "I Will Find You" from the band's 2021 album, Kin. The set was short-but-sweet; a power-packed 30 minutes that set the night and the circle pits in motion.

Though I've had the pleasure of previously seeing Meshuggah and Whitechapel live, this was to be my first time seeing In Flames. Since becoming a fan of the band in 2002 after the release of Reroute to Remain, witnessing them live has become long overdue.

In Flames opened with "Forgone, Pt. 1" from their new album before taking it back to 2011 with "Deliver Us." The circle pit churned out a constant stream of crowd surfers, lifting one after the other in assembly line fashion while vocalist Anders Fridén demanded more. Fridén kept the crowd in line and hyped throughout the set, bringing them back the moment that they showed any signs of calm.

To my delight, "Cloud Connected" made an appearance on the setlist. The track sounded fantastic live and was a definitive highlight of the evening. "You guys mean the world to us – thank you, thank you, thank you," Fridén said to cheers from the crowd at one point during the set; for them the feeling was mutual. In Flames closed on a powerful note with fan-favorite "Take This Life" before taking a bow and turning the stage over to Meshuggah.

Meshuggah began their evening as they always do, with a touch of George Michael's "Careless Whisper" to signal that the band's arrival was imminent. They took the stage in darkness and stood stoic as the chugging notes of "Broken Cog" echoed through Fredrik Thordendal and Mårten Hagström's guitars. Spotlights positioned on the amps swelled behind the band members, building the anticipation as each layer of the song came alive; then everything exploded into a wall of light and headbang-inducing sound.

Meshuggah then launched right into "Rational Gaze," catching the crowd by surprise and creating an uproar of excitement and energy. The mosh pit opened far and wide in response and remained active as the band treated fans to a career-spanning setlist that featured tracks such as "Born in Dissonance" and the elaborate and experimental "In Death - Is Life" and "In Death - Is Death."

This was my third time seeing Meshuggah live and I swear that each time is better than the last. Their tour continues through the 16th of this month, ending in Montreal before the band heads to Europe for a tour in March 2024.

THE SHOOT

After shooting Meshuggah for Kerrang! back in 2019, I knew that the show was going to present some challenges. Meshuggah's shows are known for their blinding lights – the only problem is the light is most often directed toward the crowd or to the ceiling and much less frequently on the band. Knowing this, I prepared to rely on silhouettes and wide shots to capture the vibe.

Whitechapel and In Flames both had plenty of good light and I was able to shoot all the members, drummers included, without much issue. I did have to work a little harder to get my shots of In Flames drummer Tanner Wayne by heading upstairs and to the side to capture him from above – a vantage point that I don't take advantage of enough. For whatever reason I felt like I was having a hard time getting solid shots of the vocalists too – they were both bringing plenty of passion and energy, but for whatever reason I was having a hard time capturing it in a way that felt right. I eventually came around and scored some solid shots of Whitechapel vocalist Phil Bozeman in particular, and looking back through the edits I got plenty of In Flames' Anders Fridén too.

Ultimately I think I was letting the anticipation of Meshuggah's set cloud my headspace during the opening sets. I thought I was dropping the ball, but I was doing just fine. And as it turned out, Meshuggah's set, while still a challenge, went pretty well. Drummer Tomas Haake's kit did make it tough to get a good shot of him. While I got some usable ones I don't feel like I got an obvious keeper, and my upstairs fail safe vantage point was too crowded with fans at that point to bail me out.

Overall, though, I came out with a decent gallery; one that I believe is better than the Kerrang! shots I took a few years back. That's the ultimate goal, right? To do better than you did before. Acknowledging one's own growth is nice if not important. I don't do it enough – and you probably don't either. So if you don't mind me telling you: you're doing great. Keep it up.